There are several ways to create a slot. One way is to create a slot using the Slots Tab and then assign it to one or more classes. To create a slot called
name using the Slots Tab:
- Click on the Slots Tab. Notice that the Slots Tab has a layout similar to the Classes Tab, with the slots listed on the left, and a Slot Editor, showing slot properties, on the right.
- Click the Create Slot
button at the top right of the Slot Hierarchy pane. A new slot is created. Just as when you create a class, the slot is given a generic name, such as "tutorial_Slot_0". This name is automatically highlighted in the Slot Editor when the slot is first created.
- To name the slot, make sure the generic name is highlighted in the Name field of the Slot Editor. Type the name for the slot, name. A recommended convention is to make slot names lowercase, with words separated by an underscore. Making slot names lowercase, while making classe names start with an uppercase letter, helps you distinguish them in your ontology.
- Notice that this slot has the default Value Type String. The value type places restrictions on the type of values a slot can have. A String slot is a slot that takes values that are any string of alphanumeric characters, possibly including spaces.
For this simple slot, we will not change any of the other facets in the Slot Editor.